The Four Elements
by Erin682
Summary: Isabella lives in world devided into two kingdoms; Olympia and Titan. Her parents are the rulers of Olympia, which as their child makes her the princess, and her uncle Cronus is ruler of Titan. All was right, and perfect, until the unimaginable happned; her father dissapeared. Secrets are revealed and, unbeknownst to her, an old war is about the be reawakened. (Fulls sum inside)


**Hello everyone, **

**This is not really a new story. As some of you probably know, this is a story that I had actually already started posting a few years back, but I found it lacking. So I took it down from FF and re-worked it a bit. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:** All of the Twilight stuff in here does not belong to me, that's all Stephanie Meyer. All of the rest, however, is all mine. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Full summary: **Princess Isabella Swan lives in a peaceful world devided into two kingdoms - Olympia and Titan. Her parents, King Maximus Swan and Queen Éirênê Swan, are the rulers of Olympia and her uncle, King Cronus, is ruler of Titan.

Everything was right and perfect in Princess Isabella's world, well that is until something terrible and unimaginable happened - her father dissapeared. Now, four years after her father's dissapearance, Isabella has reasons to believe that her uncle Cronus had a part to play in all of it.

Follow Isabella on her journey as new and rare powers are discovered, truths are unravelled, secrets are revealed and an old war is reawaken.

ExB eventually. Cullens are vampires.

**Warning!**

** This story will have different, very different, theories about Gods/Goddesses than those of greek mythology. So don't go thinking that any of this is actully true. This story will be twisting up everything their is to know about the greek myhtology and some of it (most of it) will be entirely made up. **

* * *

**Isabella's Point Of View**

_**First hour of morning**_

Isabella fiddled impatiently with her bed cover as she waited. Her fingers were caressing every inch of perfectly stitched stitch and memorizing every pattern of sowed in thread, a feeble attempt to try and keep her mind occupied. It obviously was not working by the way her eyes kept glancing over towards the clock.

After a fifth glance, she huffed out a breath, giving up, and threw herself backwards on her bed, letting her mind wander to what exactly she would be doing in an hour's time.

Isabella was finally going to uncover the truth. Three years worth of suspicions were stored up in her mind, and tonight she was finally going to act upon them.

_Could he be the true culprit? _

All Isabella knew was that if he truly was guilty, he was not going to get away with it. No, not while she was still living and breathing.

She was following him tonight.

_**A few minutes past the second hour of morning**_

Isabella pulled the back door open, puffing at the weight of it, and cringed as it's hinges groaned loudly. Eventually, she was able to open it just wide enough for her small frame fit through, but not without quite a bit of difficulty - the strain had actually left her winded.

She had never thought that the new doors leading in and out of the castle were this heavy. Truthfully, except for the doors to her own private chambers, it had been a long while since she had opened a door for herself. The guards did most of the opening and closing for her now.

Nonetheless, she could not understand the need for such heavy doors. They were nearly thrice the size of her five foot and four inches, and as thick as the length of her forearms. Wholly unnecessary.

But as Isabella stepped out hurriedly and tried to heave the immense wooden mass shut as quietly and as quickly as she could, a plausible reason for the doors girth came to mind.

_To keep enemies out_, and then, grinning in mirth, she added, _or to keep me in_.

It was known by many that, in her early adolescence, Isabella did not enjoy the restriction of curfews, especially when they came from the likes of her uncle, Cronus. And the old, light weight doors had permitted a quick and stealthy flight... But Isabella had not done that in years, and, contrarily to what some think, it was not because of the building of new doors, but rather because of the punishment she had received after a eventful escape...

A shudder ran through her and she quickly diverted her train of thought.

She crouched behind the tall shrubbery planted alongside the large white pillars supporting the veranda, just as she had planned, and waited.

Isabella had watched the guards patrolling the yard for more than a week's time now. She knew that when one of the four guards patrolling past through the backyard, it would be a few minutes before the next. She was not sure if it gave her a sufficient amount of time to run towards the forest's edge that stood at least a good fifty feet or so away, but she would have to try.

Evidently, she feared being caught and the punishment and reprimanding she would surely face, however she reminded herself that it would not be all for nothing, that if she were to face punishment, it would be worth it, for what she was doing was for her father.

Isabella lifted her chin defiantly. No, she would not let her fear impede her need to follow what her intuition and very essence were continuously whispering to her as of late.

Feet pounding on soft dirt could now be heard and Isabella prepared herself, lifting the skirt of her nightgown and placing her feet in a such way that would help, in theory, propel her faster towards her intended destination.

A few more thuds and she could see the top of the guards head. She slumped down lower, as low as she could, and held her breath as the guard, dressed completely in black attire, past in front of her. She was undetected.

Isabella did not let relief wash through her just yet, however. She'd have to make it to the forest's edge first.

When the sound of footsteps could no longer be heard, Isabella took off quickly with no hesitation. She stumbled a bit half way, but, with the sound of approaching steps, she righted herself and continued.

Completly out of breath, she reached the small path opening, the one that she had seen him disappear into a couple of minutes ago and all of the nights prior, just in time. She slipped between the branches hurriedly, but as gently as she could as to not rustle the foliage, and then cast a glance to the guard now walking the backyard. He did not see her. Good.

Now, Isabella permitted herself a shaky and relieved breath, and even a small smile. She'd done it. She'd actually done it!

With new energy and more vigor, she took a last look to the guard and the castle and started down the path. There was no time to waste, she had to catch up with the shadowy figure.

As Isabella started into the forest, she could feel the all too familiar ache in her chest that she knew had nothing to do with what she was doing but rather why she was doing it. She was actually very surprised that the ache, which flared up at any mention or of anything relevant to her father, had still not gone away after all these years. Isabella had always thought that it would eventually fade in intensity, but it still felt the same, as though a piece of her heart had been severed and fed to the hounds of the Underworld. That was how terribly incapacitating the pain could be at times. Although, as painful as it was and as morbid as it sounded, she liked it. She like it because in some way it felt as if she had not completely lost him, as if somehow he was still out there, waiting. It comforted her.

Her mother, however, did not understand this reasoning and did not think it normal to dwell as so on the departed. She had even threatened that if she were to continue voicing such thoughts, she would have Isabella taken away to rectify the problem. Everyone else had agreed with her mother... or rather, had been threatened to agree.

It's not as if it truly mattered what anyone else thought, anyhow. No one had ever really understood why losing him had devastated her so much or why it had affected her for so long. They understood the concept of losing someone dear and mourning, but not how painful it was and still is for her.

They never had understood in the first place how strong the bond they had shared was. Maximus had filled up more roles in her life than just that of a father. When he died, not only did she lose her father, but her confident and the only true friend she had ever had. And even with his serious and stern disposition, he still was, or had been to Isabella the sweetest and most loving person she had ever met.

He had been the center of her world. They could not easily comprehend how losing that had sent her whole world spinning off its axis.

The path in front of her blurred as tears pooled her eyes. She hastily wiped at them when they escaped from the corners of her eyes and she shook her head and calmed herself with a couple of deep, shuddering breaths.

Isabella missed him so much.

She missed how everything used to be, and she could still not believe how everything had turned awful so quickly.

It felt like only a short while ago that both her parents, Maximus and Eirênê, were lively and happily in love.

They had been the perfect pair; she, the first Goddess of love since the beautiful Aphrodite, and he, the first God of war since the great Ares. Each complementing the other as no one else could have. Both had had hearts of gold and had ruled over the jubilant kingdom of Olympia with just and merciful hands.

For the first time in decades, the people had truly been happy. The Guard were finally honourable fellows, respectful and no longer corrupted as they had been for the longest time before. The Royal Council members were all for once in agreement and the Royal Family were exactly that, a family.

Everything was absolutely perfect.

Her parents were even said to be the greatest rulers of the Gods since the ruling era of the magnificent Zeus and lovely Hera.

But then, the unimaginable happened.

Something that rattled not only the Royal Family and Council to the core, but the people as well.

Isabella could still remember reading the letter with her mother, clutching onto her elbow as she read about her father's disappearance.

Every single word of the letter was still ingrained into her mind. She must have read it over a hundred times before her mother finally tired of it and burnt it.

**Letter from the Royal Council **

**Date: 2****nd**** Month of summer**

**To your Royal Majesty the Queen of Olympia:**

_**It is with heavy hearts that we, your most loyal of council men, write this letter to you. We are pained to announce that your beloved husband, our most gracious King Maximus, has been confirmed missing. **_

_**Though particulars on his majesty's disappearance are as of yet unknown, they are under investigation as this letter is written. We can unveil, however, that his majesty King Maximus was accosted and taken whilst on his way to the private village outside the city limits that had been victim of a atrocious butchery a few hours prior. We have no knowledge of the full details as to why your majesty the King made the decision to go by himself, on horseback, to the village, however, the Inquisitor has started questioning the Guard. **_

_**Suspicions have arisen that mayhaps the subjects responsible of the massacre, several rebellious younglings, may have information on his majesty King Maximus's disappearance and possible whereabouts. When they are found, they also will be questioned before facing their sentence. **_

_**As of yet, the horse his majesty King Maximus was upon, his majesty King Maximus's ring and royal crown were the only items found on the narrow dirt road. They will be returned to you shortly.**_

_**A substantial amount of blood, his majesty King Maximu's blood, covered the area and the surroundings where his majesty was, as we fear, taken. We are greatly hesitant to say this but we, or rather you, might have to consider the fact that our beloved King is no longer living.**_

_**The next course of actions will be left entirely to your choosing. **_

_**Yours truly, **_

_**The Royal Council**_

That had been the only letter Isabella and her mother received. And although it seemed to provide many details, it still remained exceedingly vague. It was as if the letter had been written quickly, without any thought.

It was not at all the type of letter the Royal Council, Isabella's father's most trusted advisers, would have composed and given to them. They never would have sent a letter to begin with. They would have given the news personally, and Éirênê certainly would have received more information during the search for Maximus.

How anybody had not questioned this odd behaviour was beyond her comprehension.

And why had matters pertaining to her father's disappearance been kept so quiet? Other than the strange letter, they had not had a single word of news of Maximus during the search.

Why had her father went alone? Why had Ariston, the king's hand, or Straton, Maximus's personal guard, not went with him? Why had he not taken Etan?

There were so many questions now that circled Isabella's mind, questions that she had, at that time, never even thought of. At thirteen years old, she had been a little too naïve to question the letter and the out of character decisions the letter perfectly and clearly described her father making on that fateful night. But four years had passed now, and with a little less naivety, new found suspicions and much more perceptiveness, Isabella was starting to think that it was all a lie.

Isabella's uncle, Cronus, who was now king, had been the one who took over her father's position as king while a search was started. The Council had said that it was only for the time being, the throne was still Maximus's, and that her uncle was just a temporary replacement.

She should have known better.

She should have immediately seen that they truly did not believe to ever find Maximus. Well, at least not alive. If they had thought there was a chance of finding Maximus, _alive_, it is Ariston, as the King's hand, who would have had kept the throne in meantime.

But her mother, and the people, had immediately seen Cronus's temporary ruling for what it had truly been, and unlike Isabella, had not been very surprised when the search was stopped only a few days after it had began, and King Maximus was declared deceased.

Cronus had his official coronation on the same day.

She could still remember how angry the people of Olympia had been, demanding that Ariston rule until Isabella's 18th year where she could then take the throne, but the Council had completely disagreed, actually scoffing at the idea.

Isabella, obviously, had felt cheated of her birthright. As the only child of Maximus and Éirênê, the throne should have been hers - her father had even named her his successor - but Isabella was not a male heir, and the majority of the Council men - the eldest and more tradition set men - did not want to have a female, a _female youngling_ at that, presiding alone over Olympia. Alas, without her father's presence to insure her coronation, the throne was easily taken from her, and given to the only other living possible heir, Cronus.

He already was the ruler of the kingdom Titan and in Isabella's mind should not have been awarded a second crown. But the throne absolutely had to stay within the bloodline - descendants of Zeus and Hera - therefore the council men easily overlooked the fact that Cronus already had a throne and kingdom. He was given it without much argument.

The people of Olympia could do nothing about it. Even Isabella, _as princess_, could not do anything.

And even at her young age, she understood that her dream of ruling, ensuring the proper care and safety for her people, of changing how things were, was over before it could even begin.

Cronus was now entirely responsible of the two kingdoms for as long as he lived, and would probably be then entrusted into his own heir. Isabella would never rule.

She had been devastated.

The whole thing would have probably been slightly more bearable if she had still had her mother to lean upon. But that had not been the case at all.

After Maximums' memorial, Isabella's mother changed, and not for the better. Éirênê became ill-tempered, easily set off, and brusque. She did not mourn, choosing to live as if nothing had happened instead, as though Maximus had never lived.

Photographs of her father were taking down, all of his things were thrown into wooden chests and sent to the cellar, and absolutely no word of him was permitted around the house. Her mother even had the audacity to have the one guard, Straton, whom had been loyally by Isabella's father's side since his coronation and that had become one of his closest of friends over the years, absolved, releasing him from the oath he had taken to protect and devotedly serve Maximus along with whomever he may call his family. She had not had one thread of sympathy as she had sent him away. She had not cared at all that he too had lost father.

After her dirty deed done, Éirênê left. After pushing Starton out of their home and into the streets, she left and Isabella had not see hide nor tail of her for more than a week's time.

Isabella had not been permitted to leave the castle, not even to see Theodora, during that time. And no other person, absolutely no one, had been permitted to enter. The guards were all she had and even then, they too kept their distance. Isabella had truly been all alone, left to grieve in solitude.

It was on the ninth day that her mother finally came home, or rather, what used to be her mother came home. Eirênê had walked in with flushed cheeks and a large and frightening smile on her face as if she had simply been out for a couple of hours and had not left her daughter of only thirteen years alone to fend for herself.

Isabella had been confused at first. She hadn't understood why her mother was acting that way. But then Isabella had seen the newer and much bigger red ruby ring on Eirênê's hand, and the dark figure following closely behind her. Cronus.

Isabella learned that day that her mother, during her time away, had married Cronus, and she had not the slightest idea why. The Council had not forced their union, and they were allowing Isabella and her mother to stay in the castle. Cronus, afterall, already had a castle in Titan, and if he so wished it, another would have been built in Olympia for him.

There was no need for her to marry Cronus, therefore, Éirênê had chosen, by her own self, to marry him. Her father had not been dead for two weeks yet, and her mother had already remarried.

Isabella had been disgusted. She could not help but wonder if her mother had ever really loved Maximus, or had simply liked his title.

Things changed significantly for Isabella when Cronus moved into their home. Rules she had never heard of were suddenly had to be learnt and obeyed, and all of the things her mother had done to make as if Maximus had never existed were only solidified.

The very first time that this had been made apparent to Isabella was when Cronus had taken every last chest of Maximus' things, and anything with his given name and face on it, and burnt them.

When the pile had been left to burn, Isabella had quickly ran to it and had managed to save a small chest of his photographs, a couple of his trinkets, his sword and a few of his clothing articles before the fire had engulfed all of the rest.

Cronus even punished, albeit discreetly, at the mention of Maximus' name. Isabella knew this to be true for she'd been on the receiving end of said punishment - two unmerciful blows to the face - when she had stupidly spoken Maximus' name while Cronus had been within hearing distance. Her bruised cheek and split lip had hurt for weeks, and the cut above her eyebrow had left a small white scar, but alas Cronus' method had worked - Isabella never again spoke of Maximus nor even mentioned his name outside the walls of her private chamber.

Her mother had known nothing of the truth about any of those happenings...or maybe had chosen to ignore the truth. She had easily and readily accepted the lies Cronus had fed her: "_I have just taken his items to a better place of storage_," and "_Isabella has taken an awful spill off of Theodora_." She accepted them, even though she knew that the castle was the best place for Maximus' things and that Isabella, even with her lack of physical coordination, had never, _never_ fallen off of Theodora.

They do say that ignorance _is_ bliss, do they not?

Isabella had drawn the line to Cronus' take over, however, when talk of having Etan taken away started circulating. That had been something that she was not going to let happen without her say, even if it meant chancing another bruised cheek and split lip.

She could not lose Etan, he was part of the family and had been ever since she could remember.

Isabella also knew how strong the connection could be between the Bonded, for she had the same with Theodora. She had not wanted Etan to be alone somewhere strange after suffering such a devastating blow. Thus, she had begged and pleaded both her mother and Cronus to not rid of him.

Isabella had begged for days and weeks, but in the end it had not been enough. Her pleas had fallen on death ears.

The afternoon the men had come to take Etan away had been strangely calm. There had been no wind, no clouds, no sounds of insects or animals, only the hot, dry and unrelenting heat.

They had

_Isabella ran down the stairs as fast as her thin, clumsy legs could and rushed to the back door. She had just opened the door and taken a couple of steps when big and burly arms swung her up from the ground. _

"_NO! Let go of me!" she shouted as loud as her lungs would allow her to, fighting with every ounce of strength she had to get out of the arms that held her away from a howling Etan._

_They couldn`t take him away. She would not let them._

"_I am sorry, Princess, but I can't. Please, little one, do not fight me," the owners of the arms begged. _

_She was surprised to recognize the voice as Straton. On any other day Isabella would have willingly thrown herself into his arms - he was more of an uncle to her than Cronus - but not today. Not with what was happening. _

_Isabella should have known that her mother would have called upon him to take care of her._

"_Straton, you know this is not right. He should stay here with us. With me!" _

_Six men that she could not recognize were struggling to persuade Etan out of the barn. Ropes and chains were wrapped around his wings, front legs and neck, pulling him forward while he thrashed and bucked, trying to pull back and away from the strange men. He kept occasionally trying to scare them off by standing on his rear legs and roaring. He was wild and frantic, not understanding or clearly understanding what was happening._

"_There's nothing we can do," he said, looking away from the men as they realized that no progress had been made and brought out a giant iron hook to assist them. _

_"Do not say that," Isabella seethed at him, twisting around in his arms to look him in the eyes, "You may have given up on him, but I have not and will not!" Somehow, he seemed to know Isabella was not only talking about Etan. _

_His mouth twisted in a pained grimace and he looked away. He tighten his arms around Isabella and dragged her towards the door, "Come, Princess, you would do better not to see this."_

_He finally was able to get her through the threshold hold and into the house, but he was not quick enough for Isabella not to see them thrust the hook into Etan's hind leg. She screamed._

_As the door shut tightly behind him, Straton relented his hold on the young girl and stood in front of the door with his arms crossed. _

_Isabella did not let it deter her. She mustered up all of her anger and determination, and tried to get passed him. "Please..." she said finally as I heard Etan roar again, "Please, they're hurting him!" she cried out as a loud, pain filled screech echoed outside. Isabella looked Straton in the eye, not caring that her face was wet with tears and that her eyes and nose were probably bright red, "You of all people should know what he meant to father... to me. Please, Ariston!" He looked down, and did not move. Isabella just stared at him, aghast. _

"_Isabella! What are you doing down here?" Startled, Isabella turned immediately at her mother's voice, whom the later was standing in the kitchen's doorway, completely unaffected by what was going on outside. Typical._

"_Did you know they were going to take him away?" Isabella laughed humourlessly and responded to her own question, "Of course you did, because you fetched for Straton so you wouldn't have to bother with me, right mother?" she asked while moving towards her, ignoring Ariston's voice telling her not to do this. "It was Cronus' idea to have him taken away today like this, wasn't it?" Eirênê fiddled with the crystal plate she had in her hands and looked away. _

"_I thought I specifically told you to stay in your room." she rebuked, walking towards the dinning room. Isabella followed after her, and Straton followed not far behind._

"_It was, wasn't it?" _

_Her mother did not answer, but her silence spoke for her. A fresh wave of anger washed over the young girl. _

"_How could you approve of this? They're using a hook on him!" she cried, pointing towards the window that faced the front yard - the men were trying to get him into a cage now. Isabella watched her, horrified as she simply walked to the curtains and shut them. _

"_We cannot keep him, Isabella." she said simply as she placed the plate into the china cabinet, and then crossed the room to fix her flower arrangements. _

"_I'll take care of him. He'll be mine. You cannot just get rid of him, he's family. He's father's bonded."I pleaded with her but I knew that it was futile. She was not even looking at me. _

_A sort of desperation started to burn through her then, and she found herself erratically listing off things that she could do to take care of him without their help. But her mother kept her eyes and attention on those blasted flowers, not paying attention to what Isabella was saying. _

_The princess let out a cry of frustration. She did not have much time left. They were probably already leaving. So Isabella did the only thing she could think of . She shouted at her mother; "YOU WILL LOOK AT ME AND LISTEN!" _

_"Princess Isabella.." Straton murmured close to her ear, clasping a warm hand on her forearm, trying to calm her down. Isabella only shrugged it off and continued. _

_"You will listen to me-"_

_Eirênê, who had turned at her daughter's shouting, looked her directly in the eyes, "Isabella, correct your tone right this instance. I will not allow such disrespect." _

"_I will correct my tone until I have spoken my mind. I do not even recognize you anymore. You have changed a great deal since father died. You would have never let anyone hurt or take Etan away before, especially not like that!" Isabella said, pointing again towards the windows, "What would father say? He must surely be rolling up a storm-"_

"_Do not speak another word of your father!" Eirênê growled at her daughter. Isabella took a step back, surprised at her anger but happy with at least some kind of reaction. Her mother took a deep breath, calming herself, and ran a hand over her face. "This is what's best, Isabella, even if you don't see it that way at the moment." Isabella bristled. _

"_How dare you patronize me like I don't understand a thing! I understand perfectly well. Cronus wanted this, and you…you just went along with it like…like the damned little puppy you are! You're as heartless as he is." she accused. Her mother looked shocked that she had actually been spoken to that way, but Isabella did not let it deter her. "I will never, never forgive you if you let him take Etan away." she realized with a start that she was crying, but she held her mother's gaze to show her how sincere she was, "I swear that you'll be as good as dead to me, just like father is to you, if you let this happen." _

_Something flickered in her eyes as Isabella walked out of the dining room but she did not bother staying long enough to see exactly what that was. She let Straton guide her out of the room._

Isabella had not known if it had been enough. She had not known if her mother was too far gone to feel remorse and pity for her daughter's suffering. All she had been able to do at that point was to hope that it had been enough.

And, in the end, Isabella's courage and defiance had proven enough.

Isabella would later discover that it had been her mother who had personally marched out the front doors and demanded that the men free Etan. She'd even help tend to his wounds.

That, however, was the last time she ever saw any traces of her mother in that woman again.

It took a while for Isabella's bafflement to fade. She had not easily believed that in the two months following her father's death, Cronus had taken the throne, her mother had re-married, supposedly fallen in love with Cronus and had him invade their home.

At first Isabella had truly hated that he had wriggled his way so completely into their lives.

However, Isabella had eventually began to see the bright side of it all. This knew found closeness allowed her to notice some things, subtle yet very obvious things - things that would ultimately in the end give him away.

Cronus had seemed to show a lot more pleasure in having the king's position and her mother as his wife than was appropriate after one's brother's death.

He also seemed to avoid any questions or conversations pertaining to her father's death at all cost, changing the subject immediately or pretending to still be hurt by his brother's death. He would even shed a few fake tears and talk in a hoarse voice.

He pulled it all off rather well, Isabella would say, but she still saw through it.

He, as Isabella eventually learned to realize, was very skilled at deceiving and lying. It seemed as if he had perfected the act, but sometimes, if he were caught by surprise with the subject, he would falter and his eyes would flicker from face to face.

Some people might see this as sorrow or sadness from losing a dear one but she knew that, excuse her language, it was all a load shit.

As of this year, it was Isabella who had started asking question.

Cronus would not even bother to make an effort at playing the heartbroken brother when she asked something. He would only give a scowl and say, _"You shouldn't be asking questions or speaking of such things, it is highly un-ladylike_". It hardened her suspicions that he did have something to do with Maximus' death.

Isabella, however, had eventually wanted these answers though, and had went as far as to ask the guards who where suppose to have accompanied her father that night.

Isabella would have liked better to just ask Straton what had happened, but he had not been there. He had been at the castle with her mother and herself per Maximus' orders and wishes.

So to the Guard she had went.

They, understandably, had been hesitant to answer at first, but after a few tears, and a few little white lies, they had finally admitted that Cronus was the one who had informed her father of the massacre and gave him the idea to go alone, without Etan or his guard, to show sympathy. Cronus had then hurriedly disappeared. They had thought he was hurrying to the scene of the crime, but a few survivors that Isabella had questioned a day prior had said that he had never appeared.

If Cronus had actually left before her father, Cronus would have certainly been in the village when father was ambushed, but he had not been. So where had he been during the time of her father's ambush?

More suspicion grew in Isabella's mind.

Isabella had asked if they had said any of this to the Inquisitor. They had shook their heads. She had asked why not, but had gotten no answer.

Odd.

Isabella had then been absolutely sure that something was going on, that something was wrong, and she was certain it had something to do with Cronus.

Isabella had never thought she would ever consider her uncle, even if he was such a vile man, as a suspect, or atleast a player, in her father's death. But there was so much to go against him, and his past offences simply added to her suspicions that he _was_ capable of this.

Maximus had sat her down on a late summer day when she was a girl of eight, and had told her very seriously that she were to never play with a little green monster called jealousy. He went on to say that, even though he still loved his brother, Cronus had acquired one of these little green playmates, and it had turned him into a very angry and hateful man because of it.

Isabella also remembered, when she'd secretly been looking into her father's trunks after his memorial, reading a particular entry in her father's journal. He'd written about a time Cronus had gotten very competitive in a certain event, and had been very angry for not placing higher than 5th place.

The bodies of two of the high ranking participants had been found poisoned the next morning.

Nothing else was written. He did not write who was responsible, but it was very well implied.

It was also a much known fact that Isabella's uncle had always been jealous of her father's position as king of Olympia - he had wanted this crown for himself but instead had been awarded the crown of Titan when the previous king died, leaving no living heir. It was probably one of the biggest reasons why the two brothers had never gotten along.

Nearly every childhood memory Isabella has of them together is of them arguing and fighting. Yes, it is normal for brothers to have disagreements and such, but they really were like fire and ice. When they started, thing would never end without some sort of physical altercation.

Anyways, that is why Isabella is where she was now, following her uncle down a path that appeared to be leading to nowhere.

Isabella wants to know what he is hiding.

* * *

**Definitions and explanations**

**Youngling: **A young God/Goddess who has not yet had any signs of their power. Usually, these signs start only when the God/Goddess is in the midst of puberty (16 years old to 20 years old), and, even then, it might take years for them to fully developpe their power. Some younglings won't even have any signs until they are of 25 years or older.

A God/Goddess will stop physicly aging when they have fully develepped their power.

**The Bonded : **This is how the Olympians and Titans call a God/Goddess when they have "bonded" with either a griffon, a pheonix (not of the burning variety), a pegasus, a dragon (though they are mostly extinct) or any other "horse size" or "horse like" creature used to ride upon.

The Bonded share a very special relationship that will never waver and that cannot be broken. The Bonded, amongst many other things, can speak telepathically and are able to know when one's bonded is in danger.

Also, it is the animal who chooses it's rider. They instinctively know who their rider is, and will sense/know where and when to find them.

Not many are honoured with such a bond. So those who are, are usually very highly regarded.

**So there it is. Should I continue, yes or no? **

**Please drop a quick review!**

**-Erin**


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